by Dale Mayer
“You will have no problem supplying us a list of your guests then?” The speaker asked, who Levi thought was called Carlson, peering over his glasses at him.
Levi wondered at the glasses. No one used them for vision anymore. Chances were good the speaker was running all kinds of scans on Johan right now. From financials to health statistics. The speaker settled back with a frown, removing the glasses.
That was interesting. Levi turned slightly to study the man at his side. Did Johan have a way to block the scan?
“As many as I can, but I have an open door policy with regards to guests.” Johan gave them a fat grin. “The more the merrier.” He held his hands up in appeal. “What is this about?”
“Data from the pod proposed a few questions last night. We are obligated to check it out further.”
Johan’s eyebrows shot up. “Interesting.” He glanced over at Levi and shrugged.
“And I’m here why?” Levi asked coolly.
“We have information that you asked to use the pod last night.”
Not good. Levi tilted his head slightly. “That is correct. And what regulation did you violate to find that information?”
Johan snorted. “That’s a damn good question. Are you recording my calls?” he asked in outrage. He pulled out his comp and jotted down notes. “That is something I will be looking into.”
“In the case of issues of national security, we are within our rights to record calls.”
“National security?” Levi spluttered. Inside, his nerves jangled. “What are you talking about?” He pulled out his comp and sent a nudge to his own lawyer, John Driscoll. With any luck, he could keep this tied up long enough to solve the problem. He also checked to make sure his comp was recording the session.
“We don’t have enough information to complete a full analysis of the problem. The data stream from the pod was corrupted. There was also a massive power outage that we must investigate.”
“Ha, corrupt data is the norm half the time. And lately there have been more power outages than not. You know that.” Johan laughed. “Any one of my many guests could have broken it.” He shook his head. “You will also be able to check that I have it repaired on a regular basis.”
“We will follow up on the list you supply. If you have no further information to offer, you are dismissed.”
And that tone of voice had Levi’s back going up. He glared at the four men staring down at him, identical looks on their faces. But this was not the time or place to start an all out war. He’d warred with these men before. Milo often got into trouble.
And Levi always worked to get him out of it.
He wasn’t sure that was possible this time.
Johan tugged his arm. “Come on, buddy. It’s time to get a coffee. Let these guys worry about national security.” He laughed. “Coffee is on me.”
Levi let his friend tug him outside. They went through the austere building in complete silence but once outside, Johan lost it. “They were monitoring our freaking phone calls? They are not going to get away with that.”
“Sorry if I got you into this.”
“Ha, it probably wasn’t even you. Dozens of people were in that thing last night.” Johan shook his head. “Besides, I’m glad you did. I need those bloodsucking lawyers to earn their retainers. I’ve been paying them for years and they do nothing. This…” he held up his comp, “is not allowed.”
He glared at Levi. “Do you know how many laws they’ve broken? Do you have any idea how many secrets of mine they might have uncovered?”
Levi was surprised at the sheer level of fury in his friend’s voice. Maybe he had a reason. Maybe he was hiding something. Levi didn’t care. He was hiding something himself.
Light rain drizzled down on the two men. Levi looked up, surprised to see a storm gathering above the buildings. Flash storms were unusual here when the weather was computer controlled.
Johan motioned to the sky. “It’s been going on since late yesterday.” His face twisted as he studied it. “Wonder what the hell is going on.”
Levi’s stomach knotted. Please let it have nothing to do with Milo’s damn experiment. Please. “No idea,” he said lightly.
Johan motioned across the street where the coffee shop was. “I know I mentioned coffee but if you don’t mind, I’ll take a rain check.”
“Not a problem. I’ve got to get to work as it is.”
Johan slapped him on the shoulder. “It’s been a weird morning already. Let’s hope it improves.” And he walked away. His long legs ate up the distance. Johan had a specific goal and temper was still riding his emotions.
Levi hoped he was going to his lawyer to raise a little hell. Levi planned to do just that himself.
After he checked up on Milo and Dani.
Chapter 7
Dani woke up slowly, her eyes drifting open then sliding closed again. Only to come awake to wild green hair framing a looming face. She screamed and bolted upward. Tripping over the wrappings, she fell sideways onto the soft mattress. Expecting to fall and still trying to get away, she crab-walked backwards to escape on a bed that seemed to grow in the direction she moved. Criminy.
“Calm down. I was just looking to see if you were awake.” Milo danced back as Dani retreated a little more. “Hey, I’m not here to hurt you.”
Dani took a deep breath and tried to shake off the panic of waking up to a strange face looming over her. “Why couldn’t you just call out to me?”
“I did.” He held his hands up in front of him. “Sorry. I should have called out louder.”
She shuddered and slowly sat up. “Yeah, okay. I’m awake.” She pushed her long hair out of her eyes. “Now why did you wake me up?”
“I didn’t want to.” He stepped back. “I was just taking a look.”
She stared. “At me? While I was sleeping?” She glanced down and gasped. She only had her underclothes on. And the fallen blanket had left much of her exposed. She snatched the blanket and clutched it to her chest before glaring at Milo.
“No. No. I wasn’t looking. Honest.” He shook his head, a blush climbing up his neck and face. “Levi called. Wanted to know if you were up. So I came to look. That’s it.”
“Well, I am now.” She stared at the weird bed. And caught sight of Charmin curled into a still fur ball. “Charmin,” she cried and scrambled over to him. Gently, she stroked his still form and almost bawled when she realized that he was breathing. “I was so scared that you’d died during the night,” she said to him.
“He shouldn’t die,” Milo interrupted their cuddle to add, “His DNA may have changed a bit, but he will live a long life.”
Dani shot him a disgusted look. “You have no idea how he’s changed.”
“And he won’t ever know if you don’t tell him,” Charmin muttered in a strangled yowl. He opened his eyes and glared at her. “I could use some more sleep.”
He stretched out his front leg and yawned, then tucked up into a tight ball and went back to sleep.
Still smiling, she turned to stare up at Milo. Only his gaze was whipping from the cat to her and back to the cat. Oh shit. He’d heard.
“You can hear the cat talk,” he whispered in awe. “And like wow. It talks back.”
“Right. Charmin is special.” That he’d heard Charmin wasn’t perfect timing, but it’s not like there was a good time. And he’d have found out sometime. She snorted and shoved the bedding back to free up her legs. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to go to the bathroom.”
Flushing wildly, Milo backed up. “Sure. No problem.” He gave one last fascinated stare at Charmin and bolted toward the door. At the doorway, he paused. “Do you need anything?”
“You mean like all my clothes from home? The shampoo and soap I love so I could enjoy a shower? Oh, and how about some food for me and Charmin. And if you guys know what coffee is…”
Milo’s eyes lit up. “I can do the coffee part. We have awesome coffee here.”
“Well, that’s go
od. At least you have something decent,” she muttered as she pulled herself to the edge of the bed. Her legs were slow and shaky, but at least they held when she tried to stand up. Only the bathroom looked damn far away.
When she was done, she all but collapsed on the bed.
She’d barely covered up again when Milo returned carrying a tray with both hands. She eyed him suspiciously. Was he trying to make her feel better or was this normal behavior in his time? If so, there were obviously a few good things about living here. Still, she figured he was working that whole ‘keep her happy theme’ so she didn’t explode on him. She could work with that.
“Here is coffee and a snack. Levi is on his way home. We’ll eat then.”
She stared at the pretty setting and tiny cup on her tray. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought she was in Europe having a cup of espresso. She picked it up and took an experimental sniff. It smelled like coffee.
“It’s safe,” Milo said. He started to bounce from side to side. “Go ahead, try it.”
She eyed him over the rim of her tiny cup. Why was he so excited? She eyed the rich liquid suspiciously. Then took a tiny sip. And sighed. Oh joy. They actually had real coffee. She almost melted with her second sip and by the time she’d reached the bottom of the miniscule cup, she was looking for more.
Milo disappeared and returned immediately with a small silver pot. He refilled her cup and took a step back. She glared at him. Then at the pot. And back at him.
He swallowed. “Sure. I’ll just leave the pot here. You can have as much as you want.”
“Thank you, that’s very generous of you,” she murmured, keeping a close eye on him. “And you’re right, it is good coffee.”
He beamed. “Thank you.
“Did you make it?”
Confusion made the smile go away. “Umm, I guess.”
Okay, smaller steps. “Did you grind the beans and pour water into a pot, measure the coffee, and start it dripping?” At least that’s how coffee used to be made at her apartment and at most of her jobs.
He shook his head so fast the bright green Mohawk waved in the wind like a hand. “No. No. I just pushed a button.”
Interesting. Then again, it was to be expected that everything here would be computerized, technological advancement being what it was. She should probably be grateful she hadn’t been dragged into the Flintstones era.
Coffee like this with a push of a button definitely had something going for it.
“Hello? Dani?” Levi called out. “Are you here?”
Really, where else would she be? That was one huge world out there and she had no money and no ID. It would take a braver person than her to venture out there alone.
Milo bubbled out with, “We’re in her bedroom.”
Yeah, like she always entertained men in her bedroom.
Just then, Charmin sat up and stretched out a paw. She watched as he hooked the treat Milo had added to her tray. It appeared to be a sweet bun of some kind, but she’d yet to try it. She wasn’t sure her stomach could handle anything solid right now. But she wanted to. Her last meal had been a long time ago.
Levi filled the doorway.
“Isn’t this awfully cozy looking,” he said coolly, his clear blue eyes taking in everything, assessing it all.
She lifted her chin. “Milo offered me coffee and I took him up on it.”
“Levi, what happened this morning?” Milo asked worriedly. “I heard the door and just like that, you were gone.”
Dani studied Levi’s face. He looked everywhere but at her.
“It was about me – wasn’t it?” And she knew. Somehow, someone had found out. “What did you tell them?”
He looked straight at her, then walked forward several steps. “Nothing.”
Milo stepped between the two of them. His gaze darted from one to the other. He asked his brother. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.” He ran his hand through his dark curls. “They asked a few questions and I answered. They didn’t ask about you specifically so I didn’t have to lie.”
Milo bounced forward. “What did they ask about?”
Looking very uncomfortable, Levi said, “They asked about the pod.”
“What pod?” Milo stepped forward to look into his brother’s face, “Levi, what pod?”
“Johan’s healing pod. I took Dani up there last night. She was hurting. I figured if she had sustained internal damage due to the time travel, the pod could heal her.”
“Oh no. Oh no.” Milo danced backwards in horror. “No, you didn’t. Please say you didn’t.”
“Considering you refuse to have a pod of our own, I didn’t have much choice. Also considering you dragged her through a wormhole and dumped her here, her body is suffering. Did you even consider the impact on her physical body?”
Dani watched the brothers. Levi the older and more responsible. Milo, the younger incorrigible genius with little sense of reality. He’d been protected so much that he wasn’t held accountable for all his actions. Like what he’d done to her.
And Levi was doing his best. She spoke up. “I’m sorry for the trouble taking me to this pod, but thank you for thinking of me and my health.”
Both brothers turned to stare at her. She gave a little finger wave. “Yeah, I’m here too, remember?”
“So if we’d had a pod,” Milo said slowly. “This wouldn’t ever have happened.”
Levi snorted. “No, if you’d listened to me in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Milo’s face twisted in thought. Moodily, Levi kicked the door. “Besides, there is a pod being delivered today.”
“No, no. I hate them.” Milo backed up, shaking his hands wildly in front of him. “They are dangerous. We can’t have one.”
“Well, too bad,” Levi snapped. “You should have thought of that before you hurt Dani.”
Milo spun around to look at Dani. “I didn’t hurt her.”
“Yes, you did. And she’s still suffering. For all we know, she could have long-term health issues. She needs our help now.”
“But a pod is going to be connected to them…” Milo hissed.
“No.” Levi smiled. “This one is unregistered.”
Milo gasped, hot color flooding his face. “But that’s…illegal!”
It was Levi’s turn to stare at his brother. “A little too late to worry about that now,” he said.
Dani laughed at Levi’s glare. “You two are obviously brothers.”
Both turned to glare at her.
She shrugged and took another sip of coffee. “So when is this healing pod arriving, because you’re right, I could sure use it. Not to mention some food.”
“You just had a snack and coffee.” Milo protested.
“How about real food now?” Dani stared down at the crumbs Charmin had left her and sighed. “Like eggs, bacon, some hash browns?” At Milo’s disgusted look, she smiled hopefully and added, “Even toast sounds wonderful.”
“We don’t eat garbage like that anymore. We care about our bodies here. We drink synthetic and highly nutritious shakes now.”
“Only shakes?” she asked in horror. “What about real food? Like fruit, veggies, fried chicken, cheesecake…and other essential foods.”
Milo shuddered in revulsion. “I’m a vegetarian. As we all should be.”
“See, that’s just not going to work for me.” She sat up in bed. Charmin rolled over and stretched his paws. “I like food. Real food.”
“And we have food,” Levi said. “Real food. My brother has been this way since infancy. I, however, still eat real food.”
She brightened. “Awesome. Any chance of some…” her stomach took that moment to grumble and growl very loudly. She smiled hopefully. “And soon?”
Levi stared at her. His eyebrows shot up and a big smile overtook his face. He said, “I can do that. I’ll be a few minutes.” He turned and left. The room seemed lonely, empty.
“Oh, that’s great.” Milo g
rinned. “He loves cooking, now he has you to look after food-wise, too.”
Dani stared at him then broke out laughing. “You mean you guys are so advanced but you still have to cook?” For some reason, that struck her as funny. She laughed and laughed. “If I were home, I’d have picked up the phone and just ordered in.”
“We have take-out, too.” Milo bounded closer. “High-end food.”
“Yeah, sure,” she scoffed, smoothing the pleats in her bedding. “Like the rest of your supposed advanced lifestyle.”
“We do! Healing pods. Awesome elevators.” He motioned to the tray with the coffee. “The best coffee ever.”
“I’ll give you that on the coffee, but your lifestyle seriously sucks. Look at this tiny-ass apartment, the monster cities…”
“Ha! Look what I did with you.” Milo did a fast two step. “See, gotcha there.”
Immediately the air cooled and her smile fell away. She dropped her gaze. “Yeah, that’s a big gotcha.”
“Uhmmm, yeah, I’ll go make more coffee.” He scooted backwards out of the bedroom. Escaping…
She let him go.
If Dani could get up and walk into the kitchen, she would help cook, but any movement seemed to steal all her energy. She sank back against the pillows. She felt like a fat slug whose body had grown so big, so heavy it couldn’t carry its own weight. Considering the look on Charmin’s face, she had to wonder if he didn’t feel the same. She bent to scratch the back of his head. He rolled over slightly and stared at her, but the look in his eyes made her shift and tug him, blankets and all, into her arms.
His head fell back.
“Don’t feel so good, do you? Do we?” she corrected. She nuzzled his neck, reassured when his engine kicked in and his heavy purr filled the room. “At least that much of you is working.”
“Yes, but I’m tired.” He closed his eyes and laid his head back down.
“Me too.” She wondered what the pod had done for her last night when she still felt so rough today. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t have woken up today without it. Apparently they had an unregistered pod being delivered today. What kind of a government system had pods register the medical knowledge and defects of its contents without the people knowing? There was such a thing as too much government intervention.
